On the heels of a thrilling Rocket Mortgage Classic last weekend that ended with Rickie Fowler beating Collin Morikawa and Adam Hadwin in a playoff, the PGA Tour is right back at it this weekend with a Scottish sendoff at TPC Deere Run as the Quad Cities shine in another playing of the John Deere Classic.
Though Open Championship qualifying is no longer one of the many storylines to follow at this tournament, there are still several intriguing ones abound. Young stars will be looking at more chances at grabbing an early win, veterans will try to grind out a tough one in some of the easiest scoring conditions on the PGA Tour all year and everyone will be eyeing big moves in the FedEx Cup standings as the playoffs loom.
We’ll get to some of those young (and young-ish) stars below as several are among the favorites to win the tournament. Regardless of who does end up winning, we know scores will be preposterous. In the last 13 editions of this tournament, the worst winning score was 18 under by Bryson DeChambeau in 2017. That’s not likely to change this time around.
2023 John Deere Classic schedule
Dates: July 6-9 | Location: TPC Deere Run — Silvis, Illinois
Par: 71 | Yardage: 7,257 | Purse: $7,400,000
2023 John Deere Classic field, odds
Odds via Caesars Sportsbook
- Russell Henley (14-1): Henley is somewhat quietly contending to make the U.S. Ryder Cup team, and a win this week would go a long way. At 23rd in the rankings, he probably needs that and a bit more to really play his way into the conversation for Rome. He may get it, too. He’s been the best player in this field in terms of strokes gained over his last 36 rounds and also the best ball striker. In his last two appearances at this tournament, Henley has finished T11 and second. He’s a worthy favorite.
- Denny McCarthy (16-1): Speaking of guys trying to get on the Ryder Cup team, McCarthy is one of them. He’s been playing some of the best golf of his life (second at Memorial, T20 at the U.S. Open and T7 at the Travelers Championship). He also finished T6 here last year, and if you made him the co-favorite with Henley, I would not complain.
- Cameron Young (16-1): Thus ends our group of players at the John Deere who have a realistic chance of getting onto the U.S. Ryder Cup team. Young seemed like a foregone conclusion this time a year ago as he was in the middle of a terrific major championship season. However, he has really struggled the last few months with no top 25s anywhere since a T7 at the Masters. The fact that he’s playing here at a tournament he’s never entered before, just ahead of the links golf season, tells you all you need to know.
- Adam Hadwin (22-1)
- Adam Schenk (22-1)
- Emiliano Grillo (25-1)
- Taylor Moore (28-1): Nobody in this field has more top-five finishes (3) than Moore over their last 36 rounds of golf. Moore’s run stretches back to the Valspar (where he won), the Zurich (where he finished T4) and last week at the Rocket Mortgage Classic (where he also finished T4).
- Ludvig Aberg (28-1): Thus begins our list of players who have a real opportunity to make the European Ryder Cup team. Aberg was awesome for two days last week at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and appears to be an elite driver of the ball. However, TPC Deere Run does not disproportionately favor elite drives of the ball, and he’ll have to have his entire game working to have a chance on Sunday to win on the PGA Tour in just his ninth career start. Still, I think he’s special, and players who are special normally have a way of figuring things out that other pros do not. Will he win? I don’t know about that, but I think he’s going to contend, perhaps for even longer than he did last weekend at Detroit Golf Club.
- Keith Mitchell (28-1)
- Chris Kirk (30-1)
- Stephen Jaeger (30-1)
John Deere Classic expert picks
Odds via Caesars Sportsbook
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